Blogging for Action on the Environment and Writing as Action

I had planned to blog about writing with clarity under the monthly campaign by Joanna Young at Confident Writing .

But when I started scanning items in my blog reader, I was reminded that today is Blog Action Day to save the environment.

My mind was working on the problem of relating writing with clarity, integrity, and authenticity to the environment, which was raising something about a post I saw which draws a distinction between the market and the audience for public relations writers.

When I got to Confident Writing, Joanna's post is on the day's topic. I only scanned her post, but she seems to suggest that business cut back on paper if we writers cut down the number of words we take to say anything, and thus reduce the number of trees cut down.

It is a great idea, but it triggered my main concern with all the other environmental posts I read this morning. They were all aimed at individuals while major corporations and legislators and government get a free ride today.

Now back to the post at All Book Marketing:

In book marketing you cater to a target market (people who will buy your book). In book publicity and author publicity you cater to a target audience (includes your target market, but you can have many target audiences in addition to them, like niche groups, specific members of the media, etc.).

After reading this, I was playing with how to extrapolate the distinction to use it in teaching writing process.

Now my head is in a twirl. We have these issues to pull together to try to get a blog post up today:

1. Save the environment.
2. Write with clarity, integrity, and authenticity.
3. Apply the distinction between market and audience to our problem.
   
4. What is the message?

So I took a nap.

I, Cheryl Stephens, say this with clarity from a place of integrity and authenticity and, with genuine respect for my brother and sister bloggers, I offer this message:

• The environment is our lives. We must defend our lives and the lives of those who follow us.
• All our personal efforts cannot match those that are needed to meet this challenge. Those who are the greatest polluters must be stopped. They cannot avoid the cost of correction by threatening us with the collapse of the economy.
• The collapse of any economy built on the monopoly capitalist/imperialist model to serve only the aim of maximizing profit,will collapse of its own sins eventually. We do not have to continue to suffer its sins; we must design the solution and plan the future.
• Let us act, whether we write, sing, dance, perform, picket, or march, to reach:
• the market
• to pressure legislators for laws to protect the environment rather than their favorite financiers and business cronies
• to demand that government enforce the laws to protect the environment from rapacious capital
• the audience
• the people whose interest is in saving the environment now for future generations
• the opinion-makers in the media and academia

• The message is that it is already too late to solve this problem by modifying lifestyles and private consumption.

Whew!

How to write a press release

This tip sheet is from a course in writing for government at the University of Victoria--home of British Columbia's provincial government--that will serve you well for general purposes.

I followed its advice when writing a press release for a federal government department and found the result too clear and readable for the current government's preferences.

Here is a statement that sums up:
"Remember, the aim of the press release is to have the greatest impact with the fewest words."

How not to do it

Are you motivated to know more after reading the press release below? The headline for this release mentioned communication pitfalls, so I read this, but it turns out to be an example of poor communication.

"MADHAVAN NAYAR is company leader of INFOGIX, INC., the leading provider of Information Integrity solutions: "With the advent of the Internet, there has been a paradigm shift in the way companies communicate with their customers and deliver customer service. Considering there is such a wealth of information, such advanced technology offerings and such powerful communication capabilities available, why is it that so many of us feel that we are overcharged, underserved and taken for a ride? Why is it that so many organizations deliver such mediocre service and, as a result, stagnate, fail and get overrun by their smarter competitors?" To help companies understand how to avoid these pitfalls in the future, Nayar can explain how to align, focus and mobilize people, processes and products to become customer-driven, so the company can profitably grow and create value. Nayar can also provide expert insight into Information Integrity, highlighting the importance that organizations assure the accuracy, consistency and reliability of their critical information."